The present invention generally relates to ink compositions, and more particularly to ultra-violet curable inks suitable for application to plastic materials and other substrates using ink jet technology.
Many products currently use parts and components having printed symbols thereon. These components include keyboard keycaps, as well as plastic machine parts which require part numbers or other identifying information.
To produce printed components, methods have been developed which involve the application of heated inks or dyes to the components. However, these methods present a variety of problems when actually used, especially with respect to plastics. For example, heated inks often damage or disfigure the plastic components during application. Also, the print resolution achieved using conventional ink application methods is often inadequate for small components and parts.
Accordingly, a need exists for an ink composition and application method which enable the printing of characters on plastic components as well as other substrates while avoiding the problems indicated above. The present invention satisfies this need as described in detail below.